Exhumed

Director - Richard Griffin (The Disco Exorcist, Murder University)
Starring - Debbie Rochon (Filthy McNasty), Michael Thurber (Dr. Frankenstein's Wax Museum of the Hungry Dead), and Sarah Nicklin (Atomic Brain Invasion, Normal)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror/Thriller
Tagline(s) - "Some things never rest in peace" and "What is their deadly secret?"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     When you love movies as much as I do you tend to follow certain directors and their careers.  You tend to buy all the films released by that particular director regardless of the film's content.  When I discovered director Richard Griffin and his films I instantly became a fan.  I have slowly started gathering his films and when Exhumed was released I tapped out every source I had to get a screener.  Wild Eye Releasing, the company behind the distribution of the film, was kind enough to send me a copy to review.  I knew nothing about Exhumed but I could tell it was completely different from the other films of his I had seen.  Regardless, I wanted to see it and when my screener finally arrived I had to throw it in right away.
      The film follows a collective "family" unit living in a boardinghouse. The family members are what is left of a cult that found the sun to be a horrible thing.  The older members like the governess and butler reminisce of the old times when the cult flourished and had houses all over the country.  However, the younger members are not familiar with those times are try to do their own thing.  The governess refuses to let that happen and lays down the laws on the young whipper snappers.  While this is going on the daughter of the now deceased cult leader has fallen for a young college student that is staying there for a few weeks.  The governess does not like his rebellious attitude and pushes him down the stairs killing him.  His death quickly triggers the demise of the cult.
     I believe a true fan should support a director no matter what.  It is inevitable for a director to release a film that will not please everyone.  When that happens most people jump ship but a true fan stays.  Now that I said that I want to say that I did not enjoy this film as much as I did the other films I have seen by Griffin. That does not mean this is a bad movie because it is not.  In fact, this film is absolutely beautiful.  The camera angles and cinematography is absolutely stunning.  This film is a work of art and saying it is anything less is a crime.  The film has been compared to Hammer films and I can see that but I personally felt like it was similar to the film Nightmare Castle in tone.  Either way the film is refreshing when compared to other films released as of late.  The Hammer films look helps hide the budget constraints and makes the film look much bigger in perspective. The acting is amazing as well with Debbie Rochon giving a great performance.  Her performance, sadly, overshadows an even more amazing performance by Michael Thurber.  Thurber is an amazing actor who I really look forward to seeing when I hear he is going to be in a new film.  On another note, I really wish we had more shots of Sarah Nicklin smiling.  She does a great job in her role as well but this may be biased.  I may have a slight crush (don't tell my wife!).  The story is very different than most of the other films I have seen from Griffin.  The film is more serious in tone when compared to his other films and I really liked that.  However, for me the film seemed to be slow at times which made it hard for me to follow.  I had to rewind it a few times because I thought I looked away and missed something.  Finally, those looking for great kills and amazing special effects will not find them here. Instead the film relies heavily on story, atmosphere, and suspense to get a reaction out of the audience.  Overall this is a beautiful film by Griffin that should be seen.  The pacing is a bit too slow for my taste but the overall film is amazing.  I highly recommend it.